Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Leadership Retreat

I have written several times about ProFILE, the lay leadership training retreats we lead here. The is the third group to start the process (2015, 2016 and now 2018). ProFILE is now a very well recognized and respected training program within IELCO.

Last weekend we held the third retreat of four for the year. The weekend focused on how we interpret the Bible. The group wrestled with this topic for the weekend, but at the end, as they shared their highlights from the weekend, it was obvious that the weekend had had a big impact on them.


We played a "board" game, and one team member from each of the teams was the place marker. The game had questions about Lutheran doctrine to get everyone warmed up to the theme. Photo by Katie. 

Lots of small group work. Left to right Marleny, Airet, Laura Camila, and Maily. photo by Katie

More small group work - the group hard at work reading some very deep theological analyses about better understanding Biblical interpretation. Photo by Katie 

All of the participants have homework after every retreat. Here Lina (our youngest at just 14 years old) is sharing her homework with the group. Photo by Katie

The whole group debating about what it means that Jesus is the "Cannon of the Cannon" (he is the lens through which we read and understand the Bible). Photo by Katie

The whole group. As you can see we were in a beautiful place with gorgeous scenery. This is an incredible group of leaders within IELCO, a variety of ages, a  variety of life experiences, representing almost all the churches in IELCO.
Photo by Juan Sebastian Cruz, one of the participants (in the front row with the black and white scarf)

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Medellin +50, part 2



At the conference “Medellin +50: The Cry of the Poor, A Cry for Life”, in addition to the structure of the conversations and presentations which I wrote about in the blog post last week, there were also special events and activities held.

During the week of the conference, there were a couple of mural artists who had prepared for a communal process of painting a giant mural together.  Throughout the conference, when there was down time, people were able to pass by and see the progress of the mural and help paint a part of it, if they were so inclined. The mural was based in the famous phrase, connected to the Medellin conference of 1968: “Another World is Possible”. The artists took suggestions from the participants of the conference about what that world might look like as well as the symbols of hope that we have to maintain faith in its possibilities.

The final product of the collective mural painting at the conference. Photo by Katie.
At the presentation of the mural, a participant of the conference read the "parable of the hummingbird" to explain why the hummingbirds on the mural were symbols of hope. Photo by Katie. Here is a link to the parable.
 This is a video made by the mural artists that shows the progress of the mural throughout the week.

Another special event during the conference was the public act of asking for forgivingness. It was recognized that many of those who had faithfully worked on implementing the outcome documents from the 1968 conference have been persecuted, as it inevitably led them to confrontations with economic and political powers. Forgiveness was asked for in the name of the Catholic Church which participated in this persecution. We went to the Museum of Memory in Medellin to hold the event. The Museum has the mission of contributing to the transformation of the logic of war towards more civilized practices, through the construction and circulation of the memories of the victims of the armed conflict, and cultural expressions as commemorations.


Father Tacho, opening the liturgy to ask for forgiveness. Photo by Katie.

Specific leaders who were committed to the 1968 outcome documents, were recognized in the persecution they recieved, among them were: OScar Romero, Gerardo Valencia Cano, Samuel Ruiz, lay people from the Ocaña community in Colombia, amongst others. Photo by Katie. 

Reverend Emilie Smith, Co-President of SICSAL (International Christian Service in Solidarity with the Peoples of Latin America) asking forgiveness from the victims. Photo by Katie.
From the closing paragraph Final Statement (commitments made) put together at the conference:

Finally, we ask God, our Father and our Mother, to help us be faithful to the words we have spoken here at this gathering, Medellin +50, and to the spirit that has come out of it, infecting us with the hope filled energy of the better world that is possible. This better world will be possible with the commitment of women, men, children and youth, indigenous peoples, afro-descendants, mestizos, who were physically present at the gathering and those that were spiritually present from different parts of the world.

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Medellin +50, Part 1

Last week, August 28 – September 1, the international gathering “Medellin +50: The Cry of the Poor, A Cry for Life” was held. It was attended by around 200 people from 15 countries and 4 continents. It was a week of commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Conference of Bishops of Latin America which took place in Medellin in 1968. At that conference in 1968, the Bishops defined the churches commitment to liberating the poor and oppressed. Last week we explored what that commitment looks like today, 50 years later. What has changed? What has stayed the same? It was a gathering of memory, of reflection, of analysis, of repentance, and of celebration.

This is the official poster of the event.
The “Outcome Documents” from 1968 discussed issues of Justice, Peace, Poverty, and a church of and for the poor. During the conference we reflected on statements from the 1968 Outcome Documents such as:

"The Latin American church has a message for all people on this continent who "hunger and thirst after justice". The very God who creates us in His image and likeness, creates the "earth and all that is in it for the use of all the people and all nations, in such a way that created goods can reach all in a more just manner;" and gives them power to transform and perfect the world in solidarity. It is the same God who, in the fullness of time, sends his Son in the flesh, so that he might come to liberate everyone from the slavery to which sin has subjected them: hunger, misery, all oppression and ignorance, in a word, that injustice and hatred which have their origin in human selfishness."

The method of "See, Judge, Act," was utilized to organize the conference. One day was focused on the See. Observing the realities of Latin America in 1968 as well as the new realities 50 years later, we discussed the voices that were missing at the 1968 conference, particularly the voices of women, indigenous peoples and afro-descendants. Spaces were created to hear their perspectives on peace, justice, poverty, and the church's response.

Gloria Ulloa, the World Council of Churches President for Latin America, presenting on "Gender asymmetry crossed by marginalization and poverty". Photo by Katie
Pastor John Hernández of the Emmaus Lutheran Church in Medellin, speaking on the Lutheran World Federation's commitment to the "option for the poor" through debt cancellation advocacy and peace-building around the world.
Photo by Katie
The next day we focused on the Judge part of the method. This is about taking a position on the observed facts.The increasing inequality in Latin America since 1968, the deepening poverty and the environmental destruction were judged as something the church needs to take a position on.

A member of the Living Rivers Movement (Movimiento Rios Vivos), telling the story of her community being displaced from their lands for the construction of a mega-dam. Photo by Katie
And lastly, we focused on the Act. The Act aims to determine those attitudes that people should change in their lives, the criteria of judgement that must be transformed, the habits that are questioned by the Word of God and the actions that are to be developed.We listened to presentations from around Latin America of how different communities and organizations have been implementing the Outcome Documents from 1968. From theological training at the grassroots level, to peace-building, human rights defense and international solidarity work. We then dreamt and made plans for how to continue and further these actions, responding to the new realities identified at the conference.

Singing together to get started back after a lunch break. Photo by Katie
Closing ceremonies, gift giving to the hosts and organizers of the conference, and celebrating together. Photo by Katie